A Scandalous Rendezvous
by lazypadawan
Summary: The Force calls Rey to meet with her nemesis/soul mate Kylo Ren in Oga's Cantina at Black Spire Outpost. Alcohol, roiling emotions, and repressed passions create a heady mix for them both.


A Scandalous Rendezvous

Rey made her way through Black Spire Outpost's marketplace. Her cloak hood was up, covering all but her face. Even at this late hour there were tourists about, eating, drinking, and of course, shopping. She glanced at a sign hawking bottled water for five credits. Five credits! Dear Force this place was expensive! At least on Jakku water was scarce and even there, it wasn't this pricey.

Black Spire was an odd tourist trap on a planet the was an odd spot for tourism. It's literally known as "Galaxy's Edge," yet visitors came even in the middle of a war between the Resistance and the First Order. Part of it was the planet Batuu's location as an unofficial crossroads for less than legal trading. Part of it was its ties to legends about past visits from the likes of Darth Vader, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Anakin Skywalker, and Padmé Amidala. Legends that are now as real to Rey as the beings around her, not some far off long ago fairy tale. Real because now she is so close to their living legacies.

None of her friends, not even Chewbacca, knew she was out here tonight. She wasn't on a secret mission to meet with local spy Vi Moradi or to recruit new members or make a deal with war profiteers for weapons and supplies. She wasn't even going to visit the illegal lightsaber shop or the antiquities store, though she could use the help to fix her still-shattered lightsaber. For now all she had were the trusty staff she'd used for protection since Jakku and everything she had learned.

No, the Force drew her out tonight, an ethereal command to find a familiar beacon also at Black Spire. She didn't want to obey it, not now, but she served the Force. She trusted it to guide her.

She entered Oga's Cantina. The establishment had few patrons strangely enough. Usually it was very crowded. A droid played slow, romantic music over the sound system. She strode toward the right side of the bar, and there he stood with his back to her. Tall and broad-shouldered, clad in a black cloak and tunic. His long wavy hair, like the wings of a raven. A familiar helmet she hadn't seen since Starkiller rested beside him on the glowing counter. It was marked with red streaks all over it, as though the streaks were holding shattered pieces together.

"Hello, scavenger girl. We meet again," he said in that deep voice, his back still toward her.

"Supreme Leader," she said mockingly as she sidled up beside him at the bar. He at last turned to look at her. In spite of herself, Rey took a step back, her mouth slightly open. His scarred face bore the burdens of leadership and she noticed a gray hair or two at his temples, but he was as striking as ever. His brown-gold eyes looked her up and down. She could sense a storm of powerful emotions beneath his calm facade. Perhaps he could sense similar emotions welling up inside of her as well. This was the first time they were together since the Supremacy. Memories of the moment they fought over the lightsaber flashed in her mind…

"A drink?" he asked, gesturing to the timid-looking bartender. "My treat, of course."

"You're too kind," Rey said with a touch of sarcasm.

When the bartender appeared, Kylo asked, "What will the lady have?"

For a moment, Rey considered something rare and expensive just to annoy him, like a glass of Alderaanian wine. But then she thought of something better. Something strong, something that showed she was a woman who could hold her drink, and perhaps a reminder that would get under Kylo's skin.

"A Jedi Mind Trick please," she said, giving Kylo the side-eye. If the order rankled him though, he didn't show it.

"Let's sit over there," he said, gesturing to a booth near the back of the room. "The bartender will bring your drink." Then he boomed to the few remaining patrons in the cantina, "Leave us!" Rey followed Kylo, carrying his helmet under one arm and holding his drink with his other hand, as the patrons—if they were even that instead of First Order agents—exited the cantina. Rey clutched her staff. What was Kylo planning?

They sat next to each other at the booth. Kylo placed his helmet on the table and Rey set her staff against the wall. "I chose this place because it's not affiliated with either the First Order or the Resistance," he said. "I figured it would be a good place to talk."

Rey took in the cavernous cantina, admiring the lanterns hanging from the ceiling. There was a large tank with a creature inside of it at the bar. She hoped her Jedi Mind Trick didn't use any ingredients from that tank. Romantic music continued to drone over the sound system.

The bartender arrived with Rey's drink. She took a sip as the man scampered back to the bar. Not bad. ""So," she said. "Why did the Force compel me to come here and compelled you to pretty much rent out this place?"

"Maybe it wants you to apologize," Kylo said, taking in a drink, keeping his gaze straight ahead.

Rey frowned, her nose wrinkling. "For what?"

"For leaving me," he said, his tone as bitter as the liquid in his glass. "I offered you the galaxy. I would've given you everything your heart desired. You would never lack for anything ever again."

"You wanted me to stand by and watch my friends die," Rey retorted. "I could never do that."

"Your problem is your sentimentality," he said. "Always looking to solve the past, to build the family you never had."

"You are the one who is stuck in your past," Rey said, taking a long drink, the alcohol burning her throat and stomach. "Clinging to your anger." She gave Kylo a sideways glance. The man's erratic and explosive temper could erupt with the wrong provocation. Indeed, fury burned momentarily in those expressive eyes. He moved his jaw and bit down on his lip. Oh she'd hit a nerve but he was struggling to control himself. He slammed down the rest of his drink.

Just as she thought he was about to get up and leave, he called out to the bartender, "Another!" He pounded the glass back down on the table. Then he turned to Rey, for just a moment. "Would you have killed me if that lightsaber hadn't exploded?"

Rey gasped, taken aback. But that was characteristic of Kylo, blunt and cutting deeply, painfully to the point. "I only wanted it back. I left you alive when I escaped."

Kylo exhaled deeply. The bartender brought the fresh drink, fleeing even faster this time. "Why?" he asked.

"Your life was not mine to take," She said, taking another long draw from her drink and averting his gaze. "It's not the Jedi way."

Kylo gave her an incredulous look. "So you left the new Supreme Leader unconscious and very nicely gave him his lightsaber back instead of killing him when you had the chance. Sentimental," he said mockingly. "All for your musty old religion."

Rey knew it wasn't entirely for her Jedi beliefs but she wasn't about let him know that. "It was yours once too," she countered.

"And it failed me just as it fails everyone. We don't need it. The Force exists without it. If you'd only joined me I could've shown you that." He took a swallow of his drink and sized her up, his brows furrowed. "Haven't you repaired the lightsaber yet?"

"No," she said in a tone that in her ears sounded like a petulant adolescent.

"If you had true mastery of the Force, you would've. Or built your own."

Now it was Rey's turn to hold back her anger. "I've been too busy helping the people fight your stupid First Order," she bit out. She finished her Jedi Mind Trick and for a moment, considered walking out of the cantina with some creative profanity and vulgar gestures. But she sensed that she should stay and probe further. "Bartender, a shot of Port In A Storm!" she called out.

Kylo drew back, nonplussed. "That stuff's used to clean out hyperdrives!"

"What do you care?"

"I'm just surprised, that's all," he said in a rather unconvincing tone. He finished his second drink. "Not many humans can handle it."

"Can you?"

Kylo scoffed. "I have more refined tastes."

"So your poor tender tummy can't take it," she mocked with a grin. The bartender put a shot of the clear liquid in front of Rey. She slammed back the small glass, letting the fiery spirit torch her throat and stomach. "Ahhh," she grunted before slamming the shot glass back onto the table. She gave Kylo a pleased-with-herself smile.

"Bartender!" Kylo called out. "Bring a bottle of the illegal grade 1000 Suns I know you have hiding somewhere. And two shot glasses."

The bartender blinked and said, "Uh, yes, Supreme Leader."

Rey's mouth dropped open.

"It's what my poor tender tummy is accustomed to," Kylo smirked.

1000 Suns was a legendary liquor, extremely potent, potentially lethal, and expensive. It was said to be imbibed on luxury starships, in casino speakeasies, and in the Core's palaces and penthouses by elites who liked flirting with danger. It was pure alcohol laced with spice. Rey had even heard of some versions with dissolved death sticks.

When the bartender returned with the 1000 Suns, Kylo poured the liquid into the two glasses. Then he raised one of them in a toast. Rey raised hers and took a drink the same time Kylo drank his.

"Woo!" she exclaimed, her hazel eyes bugging out, her fingers gripping the edge of the table. Port In A Storm was tame compared to this. Kylo merely smirked at her.

"Care for another?" he asked, pouring another shot for himself. Rey quickly regained her composure. She wasn't about to let him beat her at this.

"Please," she said, holding her glass out for another shot.

It wasn't long before she lost track of how many shots they'd taken. She felt a little woozy, the room and music warping in her mind, the lights doing funny things. She and Kylo had moved closer to each other, their bodies a whisper away from touching.

Finally, Kylo slurred, "Oh what the seven hells…you broke my heart, Rey."

She gaped at him, stunned into silence. Then she replied, tearfully, "You broke my heart too…Ben."

He blinked as though the idea had just dawned on him. "I didn't mean to," he said. "I miss you. I miss our bond."

"I…miss it too," Rey admitted. Her tongue was too loose but she didn't care. All of a sudden she felt very warm all over. She looked up at Kylo, his face flushed from the alcohol, his lips full and lush as a ripe fruit. She couldn't take her eyes off of him. And something flashed in his own eyes.

Before she knew it, she was in his arms and he was in hers, exchanging a sloppy, drunken, passionate kiss as the kloo horn on some romantic ballad hit a crescendo. Kylo—Ben—tasted of 1000 Suns, spice, and danger. His lips were impossibly warm and soft. It was so wrong but it felt so good. She pressed herself into him, feeling his body heat through her clothes. Their hands roamed over each other. She nipped and sucked at his neck while he nibbled on her jawline. Their lips met again in another impassioned kiss.

The music abruptly stopped and a rough voice cut through the silence, breaking the spell. "Closing time!" Rey and Ben's lips parted, and the pair turned to see Oga, the cantina's owner, standing in front of the booth. Rey's cheeks burned with embarrassment. But even though the bar was closing, she was still thirsty. As was Ben. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Outside, in the back." Rey felt curious sensations she'd never experienced before. Ben took her hand and helped Rey to her feet. He reached into his pocket and flipped Oga a multitude of credits. Then he picked up his helmet.

"Have a good evening Supreme Leader and…young mistress," Oga said, very pleased with the amount of money.

Rey grabbed her staff and Ben led her outside to an alleyway behind the cantina, away from late night tourists and carousers. They set down their things and he captured her in his long, powerful arms. The look in his eyes was fiery and lustful. Rey bit her lip, then he claimed her again, pushing her into the permacrete wall. Their passion overwhelmed them. Rey felt like Ben was everywhere, his hands taking liberties with her body and his hot mouth on her lips, neck, jawline, and ears. All she could do was hold on to him and whisper, "Ben" over and over. She felt his lightsaber hilt push into her but she glanced down to see it wasn't even touching her body…

Rey blinked, the fog of desire and alcohol clearing. She pulled back and looked away. Kylo gasped, "You're hesitating. Something wrong?"

"I want you but…I don't know know…" she trailed off, once again facing her baffled and hurt erstwhile lover. His expression softened as she sent through the bond what she truly felt in her heart.

"Okay," he said softly. "I understand." Those hypnotic eyes fixed on hers. "We won't give ourselves fully tonight. But it doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves now."

"What do you mean?"

"This," he said, lifting her up by the waist with those powerful arms and pushing his pelvis into hers with a roll of his hips.

"Oh yes," she gasped, head lolling back. She held onto his broad shoulders, his black hair silky soft against her face as he kissed her with those plush lips. His tongue moved inside her mouth as they continued their odd dance against the cantina wall. It was rough. It was uncomfortable. But it felt good. She didn't care if the whole Resistance and First Order caught them at this moment.

Suddenly fireworks popped and boomed above their heads, startling them. Kylo pulled back from Rey and her booted feet dropped to the permacrete. A stray loth cat mewled and ran down the alley. They laughed, their faces flushed. "I was about to make a mess of myself anyway," Kylo said, struggling to contain his amusement. Rey was pleased with herself in a rather un-Jedi way to see his glittering eyes, flushed cheeks, swollen lips, disheveled hair, rumpled clothing, and a hickey peeking just above his tunic collar.

"Someday," she said, caressing the scarred side of Kylo's face.

"We'll see," he nodded with a barely noticeable smirk. He straightened out his clothing, adjusted his cape, and put on his helmet. She hated to see that thing hide his face but she knew he couldn't go back to his troops looking as he did.

She adjusted her own cloak and tunic, fixed her hair, and picked up her staff. "Until next time," she said, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice. She reached out her free hand and to her surprise, he reached out his own. Their hands touched as they did back on Ahch-To. Then he turned to walk one way, she the other, their fingers trailing until they both parted.


End file.
